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Socialists join Senate races

William Leonard, a Socialist Workers Party member, recently announced his candidacy for the local 2nd Suffolk District state Senate seat currently held by Democrat Dianne Wilkerson.

Leonard could not be reached for comment for this article.

Sonia Chang-Díaz, a Jamaica Plain Democrat, is also running against Wilkerson. Roxbury filmmaker Robert Patton-Spruill is said to be considering a run.

Laura Garza, a perennial Boston Socialist Workers Party candidate, is running again this year, this time for a US Senate seat. The party also has a presidential candidate running this year—Róger Calero—but he is not eligible to hold that office because he was not born in the US.

The primary election will be held Sept. 16 and the final election on Nov. 4. The Socialist Workers Party does not have official ballot status in Massachusetts and does not appear on primary election ballots. If Leonard collects enough voter signatures to become an official candidate, he would appear only on the final election ballot.